The AiR-Kart

The Air Motor!

2012-03-03T15:14:00.001-08:00

3/03/12- I apologize for the low content over the last week. Busy, busy, busy per usual.

I thought why not share the type of motor that's going into the ARK?

Check out the linkage below:

http://www.gastmfg.com/product_detail.aspx?ProductID=347&ProductTypeID=32

Now it is true that at full bore, this motor will use about 13 cubic feet of air per minute (CFM) and through the design I have laid out (that I will soon post) there will only be about 4-6 CFM production from Human power. So where's the other 7-9 going to come from? An electric compressor that will kick in when the psi gets to a low level. This compressor will run off the electric system described in some of the earlier posts.

Will it be able to run forever? No. But we're not expecting it too. It's to help compensate the human powered compressors.

The human powered design will incorporate either 20 small compressor pumps each generating around .3-.8 CFM, or two larger pumps that get about 2 CFM. Two occupants will leisurely pedal 26" fly wheels at about 80 rpm.

You know what? I'm going to try to come up with a video soon to explain the design rather than force you to read it.

Check back in a couple weeks for that and other videos.

I'll be ordering all the electrical supplies in the next week. Pretty excited about that!

Until then, pack your gear, grab a friend, and...

Let's Get to Work.

-PSD

What YouTube has to offer

2012-02-25T21:30:00.002-08:00

2/26/2012

I've been searching all over the innerwebs to see what other people have done for their Compressed Air vehicles. I would like to share some of those videos with you here!

Check out the following:

http://youtu.be/RcgtWjtk8Dc - Compressed air form an external source. Cool bike though!
http://youtu.be/NBeky4EuyBc - Another great design! On-board air tanks. Moving in the right direction! Great job guys!
http://youtu.be/PeEvOXaXz6k - Simple concept, fantastic implementation! I really like this one! Great job.
http://youtu.be/9qxPQDvhV5Q - Another bike design with on-board tanks. Great work guys!
http://youtu.be/Aec5g0cLt-w - Very professionally built, and well executed bike! Looks great!
http://youtu.be/QA3ZUousHuI - Not the best, but moving in the right direction! On air!

Pretty cool work everyone! I hope to expand on your ideas.

Until then, pack your gear, grab a friend, and... Let's Get to Work.

-PlanetSaverDave

Let's Answer Some Questions

2012-02-24T14:06:00.002-08:00

2/24/2012 - I've had a few people ask why I'm building a kart that runs off compressed air, why I'm trying to make it run off Human power, why haven't I considered Electric Motors, why don't I just get a bike, etc.

Firstly, I appreciate the time people have taken to make suggestions and help me to better understand some of the mechanics/physics surrounding the build. While I admit, in some cases, there does seem to be a lot of negativity, or rather a sense that I way off base. I can't say that it will work perfectly, and I can't say it will be 100% efficient, but I can say I will achieve my goal; to build a vehicle capable of transporting personnel and equipment that is totally reliant on Human and Natural power sources. I would like it to be able to make a trek of either 8 miles OR 30 continuous minutes of operation without exhausting the passengers.

SO, let's officially put that down:

GOAL(s):

1) Create a vehicle of my own design to running entirely off of renewable resources (to include but not limited too, Human, Solar, and Wind power.)
2) Travel in vehicle 8 total miles, or 30 minutes of continuous operation without undue strain on the passengers.
3) Look cool while doing it.

Some Answers to common questions:

Q: Why not use an electric engine?
A: Mostly due to the power requirements. Storing up energy from the Sun requires solar panels, solar panels equal weight, and weight in this case is bad. In addition to the panels, batteries are used to store the energy produced so it can be used later. Unfortunately, that just leads to more weight. I did consider electric, but it seems like the power required would be far in excess of what a Human could produce, and then the torque required would take a considerable amount of energy. Again, goes back to weight. I will however be utilizing electricity in a smaller small way. Check out this post on frame build: http://air-kart.blogspot.com/2012/02/solar-frame-progress.html

And here's a crude look at how the system will be set up >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

What I appreciate from the feed back: IDEAS!

So keep em coming! Negative or not, ideas can never be bad (misguided, yes. But never bad), and sadly there's never enough of them.

I'll be building a 3D model I hope will help communicate some of my ideas better. Please check back for that.

I hope that helps, and if it raises more questions, fire away.

So until next time, pack your gear, grab a friend, and... Let's Get to Work.

-PlanetSaverDave

Solar Frame Progress

2012-02-20T12:26:00.000-08:00

2/20/2012 - Started some of the interesting work of putting the Solar Panel frame on top of the ARK. Basically, the idea here is that the panels will rest on this triangle frame hinged at along the top. The reason behind this design is the direction of the sun; whether it's to the left, right or above the ARK, the panels can be manipulated to either both face one side, or flat out to receive the sunlight from above.

Had to come up with some interesting solutions. See the below pictures for concept, and progress.

The Solar system will provide some of the power necessary for the electrical system. More on that later.

Until next time, pack your gear, grab a friend, and... Let's get to work.

The AiR-Kart

2012-02-01T20:48:00.001-08:00

Coming soon.

The AiR-Kart, or ARK, possibly one of the tools we can use to save our world.